At New York Nursing Home, Residents Describe a House of Horrors

The reporting at one nursing home in New York is intensifying as more allegations of neglect and abuse continue to surface. A steady drumbeat of news reports has thrust Sodus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in the Buffalo area and its mistreated residents into the spotlight over the last year. As the dangerous and unhygienic conditions have come to light, outrage in the community has grown and families of the residents say they are scared for their loved ones.

The nursing home, previously named Blossom View, first received attention from the local news last year when one man came to visit his father and found him dead. Admitted only two weeks earlier, the nursing home resident had fallen several times, suffered multiple bruises, head injuries, and even several broken bones during his short stay. The staff told the son they already knew and simply forgot to notify the family or remove the body.

The news reports that followed describe inhumane and unsafe conditions at the upstate nursing home. According to News 10 NBC, parts of the New York nursing home lacked air conditioning for long periods of time last summer, a violation of the law that can lead to dehydration and even death for vulnerable senior citizens. Family members of the residents have uploaded pictures of stained bed sheets, mold-covered furniture, dirty floors and surfaces, unbathed residents, residents with severely overgrown toenails, and residents lying in their own waste.

Last week, NBC News posted a graphic video from a 2016 resident showing a gaping and severely infected wound that had been neglected and allowed to fester for weeks. The video shows that the gauze had been changed so infrequently that it had fallen inside of the wound. By the time the 52-year-old woman was transferred to a hospital she was suffering from kidney failure, an MRSA infection, and had a severe buildup of fluid in her legs. The wound was so large that she required “extensive reconstructive surgeries.”

In response to each news report, the New York Department of Health states the nursing home is currently under investigation. The nursing home has refused to comment to any news organization or any news story. Given the onslaught of media coverage about the appalling conditions at the nursing home, this New York nursing home’s days seem numbered and its difficult to imagine that any of its residents will be worse off when that day finally arrives.

Contact us if you believe your loved one has been neglected or abused in a nursing home.